Let this weary pilgrimage be spent in advancing daily toward thee, and may the breathing of my soul after thee, sanctify and comfort the labours of each day, and refresh my waking thoughts by night.
Let my heart be always where my treasure is already; and in this dry and desolate wilderness, may I feel no other thirst, than that of arriving at my heavenly Canaan, and partaking in the society and the joys of that happy people, who have the Lord for their God.
O may that God who made me, possess me in his holy temple! Not that I dare presume to hope for thy beauty and bliss upon the account of any deserts of my own; but yet, the humblest sense of my own unworthiness will not sink me into despair of it, when I reflect upon the blood of Him who died to purchase this mansion for me. Let but his merits be applied to me; let his intercessions assist my want of worth, and then I am safe; for those merits cannot be overbalanced by my sins, nor were, or can those prayers be ever offered up to God in vain.
For my own part, I confess with shame and sorrow, that I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost, drawn out my wandrings and my miseries to a great length, and am cast out of the sight of my God, into the blindness and darkness of a spiritual banishment. In this forlorn estate I sadly bewail the wretchedness of my captivity, and sing mournful songs when I remember thee, O Jerusalem. As yet I am at an uncomfortable distance, and at best my feet stand only in the outer courts of Sion. The beauties of the sanctuary are behind the veil, and kept hid from my longing eyes; but I am full of hope, that the builder of this sanctuary, and the gracious shepherd of souls, will carry me in upon his shoulders, that I may there rejoice with that gladness unspeakable, which all those happy saints feel, who are already admitted into the presence of their God and Saviour; the Saviour who hath opened his royal palace to all believers, by abolishing the enmity in his flesh, and reconciling all things in heaven and earth by his own blood.
He is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of partition, promising to give us the same degree of happiness in his own due time, which is already enjoyed in thee. For thus he hath declared, that they who are worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead, shall be equal unto the angels. O Jerusalem, the eternal habitation of the eternal God! may’st thou be the second darling of my soul, and only he be preferred before thee in my affection, who shed his blood to make me worthy of thee. Be thou the joy and comfort of my languishing mind, my great support in hardships and distresses; may the remembrance of thee be ever sweet, and the mention of thy name a holy means to drive away all sorrow from my soul.
An Act of Praise.
BLESS the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. O praise the Lord, all ye works of his, in all places of his dominions; praise the Lord, O my soul.
Let us magnify that great God, whom angels praise, whom dominions adore, whom powers fall down and tremble before; whose excellent glory cherubim and seraphim proclaim with loud incessant voices: let us bear a part in this heavenly song, and together with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven, laud and magnify that glorious name; let us tune our voices with theirs, and though we cannot reach their pitch, yet will we exert the utmost of our skill and power, in this tribute to the same common Lord; and say with them, as poor mortals are able, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts; heaven and earth are full of thy glory; glory be to thee, O Lord most high.
For these are the happy spirits, who offer a sacrifice of pure praise before the throne of God continually, who are ever wrapt in the contemplations of his perfections; and see them, not like us through a glass darkly, but near at hand, and face to face.